


They Would Never Get Married At All

by twirltheflag



Category: Once Upon A Time - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Healing, Love, Marriage, Neverland, Rescue, What do women want?, curse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-05
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2017-12-28 12:42:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/992136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twirltheflag/pseuds/twirltheflag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumplestiltskin has a sister - Lady Ragwell - who he cursed sometime ago to "protect her". She must be old and ugly in the day time, but I night, she returns to her young and vibrant self. The only way to break the curse is by find a man who knows the answer to the question, "What do women want?" ... but Rumple is willing to make an exception in his spell IF his sister give the group a hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They Would Never Get Married at All

“Before we head to Neverland, we need to make a side trip.”

“Now, Crocodile? At a time like this?”

“Trust me; it’ll help us in the long run.”

“And where do you intend to take us, Rumple?”

“Camelot.”

…

I had just burrowed into bed when I heard a knock on my door.

I had nailed a sign to my door that explicitly told visitors to bugger off until the sun went down, but I’ve found that most visitors don’t listen.

Usually, if I just ignored them for a few minutes and they’d go away.

But then I heard an all too familiar voice yell, “UP AND AT’EM, DEARIE! DON’T LET THIS BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE SLIP AWAY WHILE YOU LIE IN BED!”

Upon hearing the voice I snapped my wrinkled eyes open and growled to myself, “How dare he not do the courteous thing and die sometime in the last decade?”

He kept pounding on my door, louder than the devil, as I crawled out of bed, grabbed my wooden cane, struggled down my stairs, and hobbled through my house.

I opened my door and stepped out into the dreaded sunlight to see a pitiful sight.

An old geezer in black coat with a cane. An evil looking woman with short black hair and heavy eye make-up. A young man who could easily be a Prince. A young, beautiful lady with short black hair hidden under a strange, crooked hat. Another attractive woman with long, wavy, golden hair. And my favorite part, a very, VERY attractive man in leather clothes, adorned with treasures from goodness knows where… and a silver hook in place of his left hand.

The old codger allowed his smirk to travel over his face as he stepped forward, assuming the task of spokesperson for the group. He took up my hand, saying, “Lady Ragwell. As radiant as ever.”

Right as he went to press his lips to my hand, I pulled away and croaked, “Flattery gets you nowhere with me, Rumple… especially when you’re only using it to antagonize me.”

“Now, is that any way to greet your loving and protective big brother?”

“BROTHER?!”

Apparently, Rumple hadn’t told his travel group about his relations to me.

I rolled my eyes (as easily as I could with one lazy eye) and said, “Unfortunately.” Turning back to my brother, I asked, “Tell me, brother; what is your pathetic reason for getting me out of bed when you know full well that I am a night creature?”

“We need your help.”

“You expect me to help you after all the ‘help’ you’ve given me?” I spread my aching arms as wide as I could, giving my brother a better view of his handiwork.

“I did this to make sure that you married someone who could appreciate you.”

“I never believed that claim for one moment.”

“Believe whatever you want. The point is, we need your help… and your freedom is your reward.”

I popped my eyebrow, skeptical that my brother would be so kind just to get my help.

Either he was lying through his teeth (which he, usually, does with every word that comes out of his mouth)… or there was something he REALLY wanted and he REALLY had NO CHANCE of getting it without my help…

“Not that I trust you, brother, but you’ve intrigued me enough to earn my time. You have one hour to convince me. After that, you will, either, leave me to my rest and never come back, or you will stay and leave me to my rest. Either way, I need my sleep.”

“Of course, sister.”

I stepped aside with difficulty and gestured my creaking limbs towards my door way. “Please, come in. Everyone but Rumple can make themselves comfortable.”

Despite my jab, Rumple walked into my hut first with his crocked smile.

The princely looking one and the man clad in leather allowed the ladies first entrance.

When it was time for the men to walk past me, I let go of my cane for a second, allowing it to stand up right by itself. With both of my hands free, I reached down and gave both of their bums a quick squeeze.

Both men jumped, put protective hands on their rears, and looked at me like I was a mad woman.

“In case you gents can’t tell, it’s been awhile. Let an old lady indulge.”

The Prince look at the other man before saying, “I’m sorry, but you can’t do that; I’m already involved.”

“With whom?”

He looked into the hut after one of the three ladies who had previously entered.

“Ah.” I turned my attention towards the darker one. “And you?” I pointed my cane after the girls. “Do one of those dearies have a claim on your heart as well?”

“… Yes…”

Without another word, he walked into the hut, followed by the prince.

I smirked against my dentures.

I was Lady Ragwell, the wise sister of Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One.

I could always tell when someone was lying to me.


	2. Chapter 2

They Would Never Get Married at All

I was thoroughly and truly stunned.

“You just HAD to tell me that I’m an aunt to a grown nephew, didn’t you brother? Now, I feel old.”

I heard the dark man, who went by the name of “Hook”, leaned towards the Prince by name of “David” and ask, “She didn’t already feel old?”

I ignored the whispering as my brother continued his ploy to convince me to help him. “My son wasn’t the only one taken.” He looked to the blonde named Emma and the evil looking one by name Regina.

I pointed to Regina, whom I didn’t like one bit, and said, “You claim to be the Henry boy’s mother, but what does that one have to do with it?”

“I gave birth to him. And I’m raising him now. And I want him back.”

“Sit. Down.”

I could tell she wanted to talk back, but I can be very compelling when angry, as my brother knew well. She sat down.

“You are too hot, and if you keep it up, I won’t help you. Any of you.”

Everyone remained silent, knowing that my threat was very serious.

I turned to my brother to confirm his original hook. “And I have your promise that this hell will end if I help you.”

“If we find the boys.”

“Same difference.”

“How so?”

“If you get my help, I can guarantee that the boys will be found.”

“Do I have your promise on that?”

“We grew up, Rumple; you should know by now that you don’t need my promise.”

“Then, do we have a deal?”

My brother held out his hand for me to shake. I was still skeptical of the limb, but what other choice did I have? I wasn’t going to find freedom anywhere else. That had been made quite clear.

My shaking, wrinkled hand landed in my brothers, which my brother took in a tight grip.

“We have a deal. Now, help me up to bed and don’t wake me until it’s time.”

…

Five minutes before sunset, Rumple dragged me out of bed for the second time that day. Of course, that left him to help me down the stairs, where I heard everyone complaining about the time delay.

“Why did we have to wait until night fall to leave?”

“Because I don’t travel well in the day time.”

“And you think you travel better at night you, old hag?” I knew there was a reason I didn’t like Regina.

“Yes, actually. As you will see,” I turned my face to the window and watched the last bit of sun sink. “In five. Four. Three. Two.” I sighed and groaned. “Here we go.”

The sun completely disappeared and it started.

The pain that made me groan as I fell to the ground and curled into a ball. As the pain grew worse and spread over my body, my groans became cries and, eventually, screams of pain.

And as soon as it started, it was over. I was left in a sweaty, panting mess.

After I drew many deep breathes, I pushed myself to my feet.

After a whole day of having age hunch my back for me, I gave it a heavy crack before standing up straight and throwing off my old-lady shawl.

As I shook the age out of my body, I mused. “God! If it weren’t for the appearance factor, THAT would be the absolute worst part about this whole curse!” That’s when I found that everyone’s jaws (except for Rumple’s) was on the floor. This made me grin. “But judging from the looks on your faces, the pain is still worth it.”

I ran to the back of my cottage and threw back the curtain that hid my full length mirror. As usual, my own reflection made me squeal and examine my 22-year-old features with wandering fingers.

“Oh! I do love the night time! Brother, as bothersome as this curse is, at least you stopped the aging process for my normal body! Oh! My eyes are bright and active with youth! My small, perfect nose! My plump pink lips! My hair! All my hair is back! And it’s that perfect red color! And it still curls perfectly! Oh, and my skin! Fair, wrinkle-free, wartless, and still as smooth as babies bottom!” Then I got a good look at my hand. “Ah! It’s good to have smooth hands that don’t have age spots and dirty nails!” Then, I ran my hands along my sides. “And I’ve still got that hour-glass figure!” I looked down at those perky, young bosoms on my chest, allowing my voice to drop into seduction. “Good to see you two standing at attention once again.” Then I turned around and flipped up my skirt, examine by bottom wrapped in tight riding pants. “Mmmmm. Hello. Oh, if I could, I would kiss myself! Well, actually, I’d do a lot more than that. Oh, it is good to be 22 again! Now, let’s go!”

With that, I grabbed my bo staff and ran out my own door, leaving the rest of the group in my cottage, still in shock.


	3. Chatper 3

They Would Never Get Married at All

“There. That’s should keep the spell on hold. Then, when we’re done here, I’ll either resume it or take it away.”

“Believe me brother. You’ll be doing the later.”

I released my brother’s hands as his magic faded away from sight.

“Are you absolutely sure there’s no way to keep me young and not have to go through the horrors of aging?”

He gave me that stern look that said, “We’ve been through this a hundred times.”

I pouted as I said, “You used to be so much more fun. Even when you cursed me, at least you were a laugh.”

I stomped up to the top deck and looked out into the darkness.

We had just exited the portal and there, right in front of us, was the dread, foggy sight of Neverland.

Regina was condescending Hook for slowing down the vessel and he was responding with his reasoning on how to get to the island safely while also having the element of surprise on our side.

Snow and David were trying to comfort Emma, only to have her turn around and blame them for everything that happened to her lover (my nephew) and her son (my great nephew).

God, I was old.

Snow reassured Emma that we were going to find Henry.

“No, you won’t.”

And there was my brother, standing on deck in his crocodile skin coat, his cane in hand, looking down at the loving family.

“Oh, that’s a great us of our time; a wardrobe change.” The more he spoke, the more I liked that pirate.

“I’m going to get Henry.”

Regina did not look happy. “We agreed to do this together.”

“Actually, we made no such agreements.”

Emma finally spoke up. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I want to succeed.”

“What makes you think I’m gonna fail?”

“Well, how could you not? You don’t believe in you parents, or in magic. Not even yourself.”

“I slayed a dragon; I think I believe.” I had to hold back the comment about how every knight I’d even met had slayed a dragon. That was nothing to brag about.

“Only in what was shown to you. When have you ever taken a real leap of faith? You know? The kind where there’s absolutely no proof.”

She didn’t answer.

“I’ve known you sometime, Miss Swan, and, sadly, despite everything you’ve been through, you’re still just a bail-bonds person, looking for evidence. Well, dearie, that’s not gonna work in Neverland.”

“… I’ll do whatever it takes.” Oh, yes. Like Rumple and I hadn’t heard that a million times in our lives.

“Well, you just need someone to tell you what that is. Sorry, dearie. Our foe is too fearsome for hand-horning. Neverland is a place where imagination runs wild. And sadly… yours doesn’t.”

With a spin of his cane, my brother disappeared without a trace.

Regina turned to me with angry eyes. “Did you know that he would do this?”

I thought about the question and said, “Well, that depends on what you mean by ‘know’. Could I have been absolutely positive before this moment? No. But I had hunch.”

“How could not have been positive? He’s your big brther; you should know him better than anyone here.”

“First of all, dearie, he’s only bigger than me by two minutes. We’re twins. Secondly, in case you haven’t figured it out by know, we have a rather estranged relationship. We didn’t exactly grow up together.”

“Then what is the point of you being here?!”

“Probably to make sure that you all don’t do anything stupid. I here you tend to do that, you Evil Highness” With that I gave a taunting bow and walked up the bow of the ship to get a good view of the island.

Everyone separated out of frustration.

When Emma disappeared below deck, the pirate followed her.

…

The sailing had been so smooth that when he hit a patch of turbulence, I almost fell overboard. Had I not somersaulted backwards, I would been doomed to drown.

Snow and Charming were do their best to steady this ship, but the force of the turbulence threw them around like dolls.

Everyone regrouped on deck as Hook told us to prepare for attacks.

“What’s out there?! A shark?! A whale?!”

“A kraken?!”

But I knew that watery screeching all too well. As did the pirate. “Mermaids.”

The pesky little creatures flapped their tales about in the water, kicking up the water and knocking us about. Hook wasn’t wrong when he said they were unpleasant.

That’s when Charming got the idea to shoot a canon at the sea wench. Brilliant.

And Snow and Emma sent a net into the water, intending to fish. Not so brilliant.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

“Who asked you?!”

Well. If the “great and powerful savior” wanted to do something stupid, she could be my guest.

Eventually, Regina got bored at started throwing fireballs into the water, scaring the little dearies away. Actually quiet smart of her. So much so that I join in with her.

Finally, they were all gone… except for the one that Snow and Emma had fished for.

“What about that one?!”

“Let her go!”

With a wave of her hand, Regina brought the net on deck, mermaid and all. The creature struggled against the tangling of the net, making herself seem so very helpless.

“Get that thing off my ship!”

“Throw her back right now!”

“No. Now we have a hostage.”

“You think those monsters will calm down because of a hostage?”

“I hate to say it, but I’m with Hook and Ragwell. Those things just tried to kill us.”

“The perhaps we should find out why.”

“How? By torturing her?”

“Well, if need be sure.”

“They have no other reason but instinct!”

Suddenly, the mermaid grabbed a conch shell that was caught in the net with her. She blew into it and the honk echoed around everywhere, foreboding great trouble.

“The hell was that?”

“A warning. Let me go or die.”

“Great!”


	4. Chapter 4

They Would Never Get Married at All

Well, they were all idiots!

Regina thought that killing the mermaid would save us from the storm. But no. Of course, it made everything worse. And everyone’s bickering just made everything worse. I tried to get the m all to settle down, knowing what would happen if they kept fighting. Emma caught on and tried to do the same, but nobody would listen.

So, Emma decided to jump in the water to get everyone’s attention. Not the smartest move in the book, but it worked. Everyone managed to forget their pasts and pulled together to help her out of the water. Since I was the only sane one in the group, I opted to try to bring her back from drowning unconsciousness.

That was the first time I had ever kissed woman… and it wasn’t all that bad.

After one big breath from me, she coughed up the water that had gotten into her lungs. Her parents held her in their arms like she was a baby again.

And, of course, the first words out of her mouth were, “I told you.”

They sky cleared to show a beautiful full moon.

…

“We don’t have to do it this way. I can fix the Jolly Roger. My magic is powerful enough. We can execute the pirate’s plan.”

“And combined with mine, we can get the job done quickly.”

“Sneak attack. Let’s not be naive. Save your magic. Both of you. We’ll need it later because pan already knows we’re here. It’s time we stop running. Gold was right; this land is run on belief. All of us have been too busy being at each other’s throats to be believers.”

Pot. Kettle. Have you met?

“I was as wrong as anyone else. But it’s time for all of us to believe. Not in magic, but in each other.”

“And am I included in that?”

Everyone looked at me.

“You came to me for help and I will help, but only if you all stop writing me off. You may not know me, but you have to start trusting me because I am wiser that you give me credit for and wisdom is what we need here.”

Everyone was silent… until Emma nodded. Her form of apology for what happened on the ship.

“You want to be friends? After everything that happened between - ”

“I don’t expect that. I know there’s a lot of history here and a lot of hate.”

“Actually, I quiet fancy you from time to time when you’re not yelling at me.” I was starting to wonder if they pirate always flirted like this with every woman… or if Emma really was an exception for him.

If she was, she didn’t respond to his special treatment of her. “We don’t need to be friends. What we need to know is the only way to get Henry back is cooperation.”

“I can handle cooperation with Ragwell.”

“Well, thank you, David.” He may have been taken, but I’ll still take compliments from spoken for handsome men.

“But with her? With him? No, Emma we have to do this the right way.”

“No we don’t. We just need to succeed. And the way we do that is by just being who we are. A hero. A villain. A pirate. A…” She didn’t know what to call me.

“I’ll accept the title of Dame, if you please.”

“A Dame. It doesn’t matter which cause we’re going to need all those skill whether we can stomach them or not.”

“And what’s your skill, Savior?”

Oh, dear. Regina was really going to get it now.  
“I’m a mother. And now, I’m also your leader so either help me get my son back or get out of the way.”

…

We decided to settle down and make camp instead of traveling through, what Hook called the Dark Jungle.

I had no problem with this; treading into dark, unfamiliar territory in the middle of this night is never a good idea.

I opted to cook dinner for everyone with whatever we could find. With only berries and various leaves about, if was a vegetarian meal that wasn’t very hearty.

I cooked the meal over the fire, Mary-Margret came to sit next to me. “Hi.”

“Hello, dearie. What can I do for you?”

“Well. We don’t know anything about you.”

“Not true. You already know many things about me. I’m the cursed twin sister to Rumplestiltskin who has lived two immortal lives for too many years. I am an accomplished magic user who is willing to help when people ask me for it and respect the fact that I do help.”

“That’s actually not all that much.”

“Then what more do you wish to know?”

“Why did Rumple curse you like that?”

“He claims it was to protect me.”

“From what?”

“Men with ill-intentions. As you may have guess, I’ve had many suitors since I became a woman.”

“But you don’t believe him when he says that?”

“Well, I wasn’t only the pretty one, but before he became the Dark One, I was also the smart and talented one. I feel like once he got onto my level, he decided to punish me.”

“Were you mean to him as a child?”

“Didn’t have much of a chance to be. We were separated when we very little. He went with our father. I stayed with our mother. I didn’t see until he became the Dark One after that.”

“So you think you out of jelousy?”

“It may difficult for you to believe since you’ve probably never had a jealousy bone in your body, but such feelings can make a person betray even his own blood.”

“… Actually, that’s not too difficult to believe.” I caught her eyes flashing towards Regina, who was pacing with impatience. If she heard us, she ignored us and focused on her pacing.

Suddenly, David decided to join the conversation, flanking my other side.

“So, how did you become a Dame? Where we come from, you have to marry a knight to get that title.”

I giggled through closed lips. “Well, that was the way of Camelot until I came along. I earned the title by helping the King.”

“King Arthur?”

“Have you heard of another King of Camelot?”

They laughed at the joke. “What did you do to help him?”

“I gave him wisdom. You see, my brother had control of some land that Arthur needed in order to continue in his search for the Holy Grail. Rumple promised to give him the land, but, as you probably know by now, everything that comes from my brother has a price. Arthur had to answer a question of his correctly in order to get the land. Arthur had his knights search for the answer but none of them had the right. That is, until Sir Gawain ran into me. I gave them the correct answer, got the land for Arthur, and the rest is history.”

“Rumple only wanted an answer to a question? Seems like a liniant price for him.”

“Well, it was important at the time. Probably needed the answer to woo someone at the time.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the question he asked was the question that all men have asked since the beginning of time; ‘What do women want?’ No man and very few women inherently save for myself know the answer to this question, and since my brother didn’t exactly have looks going for him, I suppose he thought that knowing the answer would give him the advantage over other men.”

“… So what is the answer?”

I looked at David slowly. “You’re a married man; you should know the answer by now.”

I saw embarrassed heat rise in David’s cheeks.

“Go on; look at your wife and tell me what you think she wants. I’ll bet you that not even she – or anyone else at this camp – knows the answer.”

“The answer to what?”

Emma walked over to us and sat across from us.

“The answer to the time old question ‘What do women want?’ In fact, since dinner is now ready, this is the perfect thing to have dinner conversation over.”

I served everyone the watery, mostly flavorless meal before resuming the questions. “So, David, what do you think Mary Margret really wants?”

David stared at his wife for a very long time, trying to read her, but becoming easily distracted by her beauty. “I think… she wants… a safe home… for everyone. Everyone in our family and all of our friends.”

I couldn’t help but see a falter in in Mary-Margret’s smile. Apparently, she wanted something more than just safety for those she loved. What she wanted still wasn’t probably the right answer, but it was still interesting to know.

“A good answer but not the right one. Perhaps a pirate who has known many women can tell us the correct answer.”

Hook didn’t even take time to think about it. “In my experience, women want handsome and strong men who… well, know how to use a sword.”

Everyone else scoffed at the obviously-sexual innuendo while I couldn’t help but purr at it. “Mm. Very tempting… but still not the right answer. Now, let’s see if the women know what they really want. Mary-Margret?”

She searched her mind for the answer. “I want a good life.” She wasn’t telling e what she really thought she wanted. I could tell that much.

“Oh, dear. Not at all correct. Regina?”

“What want is my son?”

“And once you get him back and get home safely? What will you want then?”

“To destroy Pan and anyone one else who dared to touch Henry.”

“Boy. It is all fire and brimstone with you. As you can imagine that’s not the right answer either.”

“Maybe not for you but for me - ”

“Not for any women. All women want the EXACT same thing. What could that be? Do you know, Emma?”

Emma stared into the fire, thinking about the answer long and hard.

“… I don’t know…”

Silence fell over the group.

“As I thought. No one here knows.”

“And what do you want, Lady Ragwell?”

It was Hook who had asked the question.

I couldn’t help but break into the biggest smile. “Oh, you are a clever boy… but I’m afraid the correct answer comes at a price. A price that I’m pretty sure no one here is willing to make.”

I stood from the camp fire and walked away to were my make shift bed was set up.

“What price did you charge Sir Gawain and Arthur?”

I stopped in my tracks at the question before looking over my shoulder. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

As I walked away from the group, my forced smile fell from my face. And not even Regina’s comment about how I am definitely Rumple’s sister could bring a genuine smile to take it’s place.


	5. Chapter 5

They Would Never Get Married at All

David, Mary-Margret, and I returned from a border patrol, having seen nothing of that monster Pan. Apparently, he had paid Emma a visit in the night and gave her a blank map. Once she accepted who she was, the map would appear and would lead us to Henry.

Apparently, Emma had no luck with the map while we were away and Regina was getting impatient. Again.

“Don’t you see what he’s doing? Every second we spend talking about this is another second we’re not looking for my son.”

“You got a better idea?”

“Magic.”

This again.

“If there’s a lock on there, I’ll find a way around it.”

Right as Regina reached for the parchment, Emma slammed her hand down on it. “Pan said it had to be me.”

“I’d listen to Emma, love. Breaking Pan’s rules would be unwise.”

“Sadly, I agree with the pirate.”

“I’m winning you over. I can feel it.”

“And let’s not forget how magic has already cocked up our original plan.”

“Yeah. Your magic doesn’t exactly have a gentle touch Regina.”

“Us it on the map, it might blow up in all our faces.”

“Well that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Well, I’m not. If I’m the one whose supposed to figure out this thing, I’m supposed to do what Pan said.”

“Great.” Regina started walking off, ignoring Mary-Margrets insists that Emma will get there.

We all sat around the fire, brainstorming as to what Emma could possibly denying that would matter to Pan. She gave her name, her occupation, her past, her relationship to Henry. Her family. Her journey. Even saying that she was ‘the Savior’ didn’t work.

Finally, Regina couldn’t take it anymore. She snatched the paper away and cast a locator spell on it so that it would leads us to Pan.

There wasn’t anything else that anyone was willing to do, but I knew that doing this would cost us. Even if it was just a hunch feeling.

…

We tried to come upon with camp with surprise on our side but it was deserted… until was saw a boy in a navy blue coat… which, apparently, belonged to Henry.

“Henry!”

This is too easy.

Right as the thought crossed my mind, the boy turned around. “Hi, Emma.”

Pan.

He hadn’t change much, save for that fact that he had grown an inch or two since I last saw him. He even still had that same infuriating smirk on his face.

“Where the hell is Henry?!”

“You broke the rules. That’s not fair. Bad form. I expected more from you, Captain.”

“Aye, and you’ll get it.”

Suddenly, the brats eyes fell on me. “Lady Ragwell. The years have been especially good to you.” 

My eye brows shot up in surprise.

“Why so stunned?”

“Brats like you don’t usually remember the Old Ladies who have fake hips because of them.”

“Well, that’s why I kept track of you. I, actually, felt a little bad for that one. Do tell, how’s Gawain?”

“If you kept track of me, then you should know.”

Emma became tired of Pan’s games. “Give Henry to me!”

“Sorry. Can’t. Don’t you know?”

Know what?

“Cheaters never win.”

The words sounded like our death sentence. And when we became surrounded by armed lost boys, I was sure that they were.

…

The battle had just ended with Pan giving Emma one last chance to find Henry. The right way.

I examined my staff, which was covered with fresh arrow kicks and bruises from beating clubs.

Mary-Margret were trying to comfort her daughter.

David was trying to tend to a wound on his side.

Regina was off somewhere being impatient and frustrated.

And Hook… sat down next to me with his little bottle of rum. “So you know Pan too.”

“Sadly.”

“Gave you a fake hip, huh?”

“I was walking about in my other form one day, trying to find something for supper for the night and the little brat decided that he would get a kick out of tripping a poor, little old lady. Unfortunately, I landed right on a rock, and in my other form, my bones are extremely fragile and brittle. The local mason fit me with a metal one. Fortunately, Rumple heard about the ordeal and came to enchant the metal so that it would morph with me when it came time for my transformation. Kind of him but it still left a nasty scar.”

“…. Can I see it?”

I looked at the pirate with a little bit of perverted shock. I mean, the scar was in a very interesting place.

“Well, you’ve already seen my scar from your brother.” He held up his hook.

I was even more shocked now. “He did that to you?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No. He’s not usually so violent. Wait. This was after he became the dark one, wasn’t it?”

“Aye.”

“What did you do to anger him?”

Suddenly, his face became full of melancholy. I knew that look all too well. I’d seen it in my own looking glass for decades.

I didn’t press any further. I simple stood up and hiked my skirt up to my hip, showing off my riding pants underneath.

“A bit forward and not really good timing, don’t you think love?”

I giggled. “Don’t get cheeky. You wanted to see the scar.”

I folded down the waist of my pants, showing a thin line that followed my hip bone. It was still pink as it was the day I got it. It was a clean, straight scar, thankfully, so it turn ragged and ugly. But it was still and imperfection on my body. And underneath was something that was even more shaming. An artificial body part. I hated knowing that something about me was unnatural. And that it would be for the rest of my life.

I felt the pirate’s rough, callused fingers trace the pink line. I wasn’t expecting the touch and it was in such a sensitive place. I couldn’t help the shudder.

Of course, this made Hook smirk up at me. “Sensitive are we?”

Two could play at that game. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

At which point, Emma ruined the moment by running up and saying that she got the map to work.


	6. Chapter 6

They Would Never Get Married at All

Why couldn’t I see it coming?

I should’ve known it would be too easy.

Pan gives us a map to find his camp and therefore find Henry. But, of course, the camp keeps moving.

Of course, this made everyone start arguing again. Regina was once again pushing for using her magic again and everyone pointed out why it would be a bad idea.

We, eventually, came to the conclusion that we needed the help of Pan’s local source of Pixie Dust; Tinkerbell. Regina was still against it, but our choices were extremely limited. What else could we do?

…

And apparently the Pixie choice wasn’t as great as we thought it was going to be. Yeah, she could get into the camp and she would give us one chance to get in with her. But only one chance. And she didn’t even have her magic to provide any other assistance.

We had made up a model of the camp based on Tinkerbell’s description of it. Henry was kept in the back and there were guards at the front, so we were intending to have a sneak attack from behind.

We had it all worked out… except for how we were all going to get off the island. Aparently no one gets to come or leave Neverland without Pan’s okay.

And to drive that point home, Tinkerbell showed us a possessions that she had gotten off of a body. A body of one of the people who brought Henry to Neverland in the first place. People who Pan had hired.

And without a way to get off the island, not only did we not have Tink’s cooperation. We didn’t have prayers chance.

It seems that only one person had ever left the island unbeknownst to Pan. My dead nephew.

…

Hook led us to a hidden cave where my nephew had stayed while he was stuck in Neverland. The walls were covered with chalk drawings and tick marks to count the days gone by. A trunk, some bags full of old food, and a ladder to a hard rock bed were all that furnished the cave. 

I stared at the drawings. They were all impeccable. Beautiful.

And the only thing that beat them, was the way that he had created the night sky for himself. A coconut with a candle inside and holes in the top. 

Stars. My favorite sight. And apparently, my nephew’s.

“It’s a map.” Of course Hook would know that. That stars had been his guide for goodness knows how long.

“To what?”

“… Home.”

“How can you be so sure it’s a map?”

“There was a short time in Neverland when Baelfire was aboard my ship. I taught him to navigate using the stars. What you’re looking at is the fruit of my labours.

“Oh, my nephew was a clever boy indeed.”

“Then you can read it?”

“Sadly, no.”

“I thought you just said you taught him how.”

“Yes, but I also taught Neal something else; the key to being a pirate. Secrecy. The best Captains conceal their maps in code. He was an apt pupil.”

“So you’re saying the only person who can read this map is Neal.”

“Which means the only person who can read it is dead.”

…

The others decided to return to the camp to set up some kind of trap for the lost boys. I told them that I would look around Neal’s cave for anything that I could use with my magic, which was far less destructive than Regina’s.

But it was a lie.

I never got to meet my nephew. At that point in time, that cave was all I had to get to know who he was… and I wanted to get to know him.

I sat in that cave. Alone. In the silence. Staring at the pictures on the wall. For… I don’t even know how long I was there for… before I was interrupted.

“A young, beautiful, healthy body like that and you’re still sitting around like a broken old lady.”

Pan was leaning against the entrance to Neal’s cave.

“I don’t expect a killer to understand that remembering the dead requires stillness.”

“Oh, you accuse me wrong, madame.” I could the mockery in his voice. “I’ve not killed a single person in my life.”

“Oh, forgive me. I didn’t realize that just because your shadow killed people, it didn’t make you the killer. Just a kidnapper.”

“You can’t kidnap those who had no place in the world. No family to care for them.”

“If that’s how you sleep at night, keep telling yourself that.”

“And how do you sleep at night, Lady Ragwell? Now that Gawain is gone, I’m sure that bed of yours gets pretty cold.”

The ice that he was treading was gradually getting thinner and thinner.

“Assuming of course that your bed was ever warm with him in it. With that cold bitterness towards you for roping him into an unwanted marriage, I would guess that he wasn’t very… comforting.”

Getting real thin.

“His horrible treatment of you has just gotten to you so much that now you’re running around in the night, flirting like a little tramp.”

Oh so very thin.

“Flirting with any man who comes along – knights, farmers, workers…. pirates…”

Oh. So he knew about my flirtations with Hook. What a little spy?

“Word of advice; stay away from Hook. He’s not interested in you anyways. After all, why would he go for an old hag when he could have the savior?”

I really wanted to punch the kid at that point, but knowing that’s what he wanted, I couldn’t. I hopped down from my perch in the cave and was ready to brush past Pan when his hand came up to rest against the door way, blocking my path.

“Do what your father always told you to do and find someone with money…. If you can find anyone, that is.”

I got right up in his face and said in a low, threatening whisper, “There are two kinds of people I don’t listen to; Dead men who were worthless when they were alive and little boys who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.”

I brushed past him, heading back towards our camp.

Pan called after me. “Is that what Rumple told you? That your father is dead?”

I furrowed my brows but kept walking and didn’t look back.

What was that supposed to mean?

…

It was twilight before I got back to our camp.

And when I got back, I found Emma and Hook. Kissing each other.

Pan had been right.

So what else was he right about?


	7. Chapter 7

They Would Never Get Married at All

My nephew was alive.

Mary-Margret had just told Emma, obviously against Hook’s and David’s judgment.

Gee, I wonder why Hook didn’t want to tell her.

Emma looked positively terrified by the news

Gee, I wonder why.

Was I so pitiful and bitter to be jealous of her? Yes. She had at least two men who deeply cared for her. And what did I have?

I wanted to go with Regina when she walked off. Just get away from… them.

But I also wanted to meet my nephew.

…

We followed so tracks to a cave.

Echo Cave, according to Hook. So name because if anyone is trapped inside, the only way to save them is to reveal your darkest secrets. A secret that you would never admit to anyone else normally.

“The deeper the lie, the more truth in its echo.”

Pan’s clever way of trying to find our greatest weaknesses.

We entered the dark cave at our own discretion. There was a huge, vast crevasse. And on the other side of the crevasse was a bamboo cage. And someone inside.

“Emma!”

His cry for Emma echoed around the cave.

“Consider this the moment of truth. Literally. Who wants to kick things off?”

“So what? Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?”

“I don’t know the particulars; only what I’ve been told.”

“Then how do you know it’ll work?”

Hook sighed deeply. “There’s only one way to find out, I suppose…. I kissed Emma.”

“You did what?!”

“David. Now is not the time.”

“I already told Mary-Margret, so, technically, it’s not a secret. It was just a kiss. How is that you’re darkest secret?”

For being “the Savior”, she really wasn’t very astute.

“It’s what the kiss exposed… My secret is I never thought I’d be capable of letting go of my first love. My Milah.” So there was someone before Emma. “To believe that I could find someone else. That is until I met you.”

The heavy silence was broke by the shaking of the earth. We looked across the way to see that a stone pathway had started to grow from the other side.

“Uh. Mary Margret.” It seemed that David wanted to go next, but Mary-Margret wouldn’t let him.

“No, no, no. Me next. Ever since the curse broke – since we found each other. Since we found Emma – In all of that happiness, there is something that I haven’t wanted to admit. Our daughter is a beautiful, smart, amazing woman who I love very much and of whom I could not be more proud… but she’s all grown up… and as much as I want to pretend I’m okay with that, I’m not.” So that’s what she really wanted. “We missed it, David. What we have with her is unique, but it’s not what I wanted. We were cheated out of everything. Her first step. Her first word. Her first smile. We missed it all.”

“What are you saying?” Gee, he really couldn’t figure it out?

“When we get off this island and get back to Storybrooke, I want another go at it. I want to have another baby.”

Another confession that made the earth shake and extended the pathway to half-way across the crevasse.

“Noting in this world would make me happier and I know with all my heart that you would make an amazing mother… but it can never happen… at least not with me…”

“… What do you mean?”

David’s unspoken truth was already releasing tears. “When Hook and I went to look for the sextant, he was really taking me to find a cure.”

Oh, boy. Mary-Margret did not look happy. “A cure for what?”

“Dream shade.”

The Lost Boys had scratched him in our first fight with them. And the scratch was enough to get the poison into his blood stream. 

“Hook was able to find a cure, but it comes at a price; I can’t leave Neverland… if I do, I’ll die.”

Boy, that one really shook things up. Literally and figuratively.

The path was almost done. Almost. It needed to grow another fourth to be completed. Which meant we needed one more secret.

All eyes fell to me.

“… I have no secrets. I have nothing to hide.”

“If that were the case, love, the path would be complete.”

“It’s alright.” Mary-Margret being strangely comforting given what she just heard. “There’s nothing you could reveal that could be so bad.”

“I don’t have anything to hide.”

“Clearly you do. What aren’t you telling us?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you gonna be so selfish that you can’t-”

“Selfish?” That stopped Emma right in her tracks. “It’s everyone else who is selfish. Not me.”

“… Go on.”

“… Everyone in my life has only ever used me as a means to an end. My father tried to marry me off as a child to the highest bidder. My brother cursed me so that one day, he could get the answer to the question. Arthur used me to get the land. And when I demanded that Sir Gawain marry me in exchange for my help, he used for little purpose he thought I had. I told him exactly what women want, but he was too selfish to actually apply it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The original curse had me ugly every hour of every day. When I kissed Gawain on our wedding night, half of the curse was broken and he saw me as I am. In order to break the rest of the curse, I followed my brother’s instruction I gave him a choice; I could be beautiful by day and ugly by night…”

“Or ugly by day and beautiful by night.”

“He chose wrong.”

“So you’re supposed to be beautiful in the day to break the curse?”

“No!”

“Then what?”

“He wasn’t supposed to make the choice! He supposed to let me make it! It affected me more and it was my life! It was supposed to be my decision! 

I told him the answer to the question!

What do women want?!

Women want their own way!

I was supposed to get my own way!”

If it hadn’t been for the rumbling of the rocks, we would’ve been in dead silence.


	8. Chapter 8

“So, uh, who are you?”

I had been wrapped up what I had confessed at echo caves that I had found no time to talk to my nephew.

“Lady Ragwell. I’m your auntie, dear.”

He looked quiet shocked. “I have an aunt?”

I nodded. “Twin sister to your father.”

“… Are you… anything like him?”

I was a bit confused by the question. “What do you mean exactly?”

He went into a harsh whisper. “Are you going to try to kill Henry?”

“Why would I want to kill him? I don’t even know the boy?”

“So why are you here?”

“Your father promised me that if I help you all rescue Henry – not kill, rescue – then he would break a curse he put on me some time ago.”

“Did he tell you anything about a prophecy?”

“No. Why?”

“Because, supposedly there is a prophecy that says that Henry will be my father’s undoing. That’s why he wants to kill him.”

I thought about what I was hearing for a long time.

Did my brother believe in these prophecies?

…

I had two choices on where I could go.

I could go with Baelfire, Hook, and Emma to get Pan’s Shadow, which would take us home.

Or could join Mary-Margret and David on their trek to Tinkerbell’s.

Depsite the obvious tension between the couple, I opted to go with Mary-Margret and David. I felt less… judged around them.

I spent the walk in silence while David tried to get an unresponsive Mary-Margret to talk to him. When she finally did, a lioness was released; she let out all her anger before reminding David that she always wanted to be at his side. Which means if she had to spend the rest of her days in Neverland, she was willing to do it.

They ended it with the cliché, teary, romantic hug.

I had to bite back some comments.

“Hey.”

I turned to look at the two.

“You okay?”

My silence was the answer she should’ve been expecting.

“I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine what that would be like… But you will find someone.”

“… You know, every time I hear that I line - which, I’ll grant you, is not often but still – I want to crack someone’s skull. Usually, I want to crack the skull of the one says it. You have your happy ending… but not everyone can.”

Fortunately, Tink arrived, cutting the moment short.

Following right behind her entrance was Emma, Neal, and Hook. They had gotten Pan’s shadow.

We were ready.

…

Tink led the way to Pan’s camp and on the way, we crossed paths with my brother and Regina.

In my brother’s hand was Pandora’s box.

“Well, haven’t see that in a while.”

“We can trap Pan inside it just by opening the lid.”

Neal didn’t seem to be so convinced about the plan. Neal didn’t want my brother anywhere near Henry. He told everyone about the supposed prophecy and how my brother’s intentions were to kill Henry. Not to save him.

With that, everyone started to turn on him, despite his pleas that he was really trying to help. Everyone armed themselves and Emma challenged Rumple to go through them first.

I pushed through the group and stood in front of my brother. “And you all must get through me if you want to wrongly execute my brother.”

“Wrongly execute? Don’t you see that it’s the only explanation for everything he’s done.”

“No. It’s one explanation.”

“You are just like him. You want to kill Henry too.”

“Yes, I am so incredibly threatened by an eleven-year-old boy who I don’t even know that I need to kill him. Do tell me where that logic makes any sense whatsoever?”

“It also doesn’t make sense that you would so readily help us try to get him back.”

“So that I could be free from my curse. Weren’t you all listening?”

“Yeah, we were. And we were listening when you said that your brother cursed you, so why would you help him, even if he could free you? Where’s your grudge?”

“Long buried. It’ difficult to hold a grudge against the only family you have left.”

Rumple put a hand on my shoulder, silently telling me to stand down. He wanted to defend himself in this case.

The only way he was able to buy anyone’s trust was to give Neal Pandora’s box and promise that neither he nor I will use any magic. Unwise, but he did it anyways. And even then, there was little trust and it was all half-hearted.

Everyone else walked on a head while stayed with Rumple. Before Neal could brush past him, my brother stopped him. “Look; you may think you know who you’re up against, but you don’t.”

“Then tell me. What really happened between you two?” I couldn’t deny that the question had been buzzing around in my head ever since I met Pan in Neal’s cave.

“… Peter Pan destroyed our father…”

What exactly did that mean?

…

Just as everything had been on this trip, getting into the camp was too easy. All Regina had to do was cast a spell that knocked every lost boy in sight unconscious and we were in.

But as we had come to learn, when things were too easy, there was always something waiting to be a catch.

Pan and Henry were nowhere to be seen.

The only lead we had was an old friend of Neal’s. A young girl by the name of Wendy.

“Wendy. Since you’ve been here, have you seen my son? His name is Henry.”

“You have a son?”

Fake shock. Rumple and I both knew it.

“Yeah. Pan needs his heart.”

“Has he said anything about the heart of the truest believer?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. He never mentioned anything about a heart.”

“Lair.”

Everybody looked at me in shock.

“She’s lying.”

Rumple started getting threatening. David and Neal had to push him back as he demanded that Wendy start telling the truth.

“We’ve carried enough lies in our lives to recognize their burden.”

“She knows where Henry is.”

Neal turned back to Wendy, asking if it was true.

“You don’t understand.”

“You’re helping Pan?”

“He’s keeping John and Michael alive but only if I do as he says.”

“Trust me; whatever he’s promised, he will go back on his word.”

Suddenly, Wendy’s sweet deminour turned to one of scorn. “And why should I trust a man who abandoned his own son?”

“Because your brother’s did. They trusted a woman named Belle. They helped her get this box so we could defeat Pan.”

“They’re okay?”

“Somehow.”

“And only if we succeed.”

“Wendy. We will save John and Michael. I swear to God, but right now, I really need your help. Please.”

With a reluctant sigh, she told us that Pan told Henry that his heart is needed in order to save magic.

A bold-face lie.

“He needs it to save himself.”

“What do you mean?”

“… Pan is dying…”

…

So, Pan was going to try to trick a boy into sacrificing his life so that he could live forever.

Almost reminded me of our coward father. That man was so selfish, I was sure he’d sell his own children for immortality.

I thought about how much I hated that coward on the whole row to Skull Rock. 

We tied the boat down in the mouth cave and got out.

Henry’s foot prints were clearly visible in the sand… along with a line.

A Protection Spell.

No one could cross the line… except for my brother. Apparently the line was supposed to prevent those with a shadow from crossing.

“Well in that case…”

I turned to the cave wall and froze my shadow on the wall. Then, I reached down for the tip of my toes.

“This is gonna hurt.”

With swift, bandage removing speed, I ripped my Shadow off and left it on the wall.

I turned to the rest of the group, who was stunned by what they had just seen, and said, “Keep an eye on her, will you? She shouldn’t be able to move but she can be a trouble maker. And if you need to grab her, just roll her up and put her in your bag.”

With great nonchalance, I crossed the line and joined my brother, who was silently asking why.

“I know there’s something you know about Pan that I also deserve to know. I’m going with you.”

He wanted to argue, but, knowing me, he knew it would just be a lost cause.

Finally trusting that we were there for nothing but good reasons, Neal gave Pandora’s Box back to Rumple and Regina threatened us, saying that we needed to come through… for our own sakes.

...

Rumple told me to wait and listen on the stair case if I wanted to learn the truth about Pan.

“Hello, laddie.”

Laddie? 

“I see you’ve come bearing gifts.”

“… Where’s Henry?”

“What? You mean my great-grandson?”

… Great… grandson…

“You still haven’t told the others who I really am. Not your own son.”

… It couldn’t be…

“Not even little lassie over there.”

I thought I was gonna be sick.

“Come one out lassie! Give you papa a hug!”

“Leave her alone!”

“Why should I? She’s here. She should know. Why didn’t you just tell her?”

“Because you’re nothing but a coward to me.”

“We both know that if that were true, I’d already be in that box.”

“You don’t think I can do it. You let us inside just to taunt me and scare her.”

“No. To see you again. To give you one last chance. Both of you… please, come out , lassie.”

“I said leave her alone.”

“… Stay with me. Let this go. Let everything go. Let’s all start over.”

Start over? Start over? He thought that he and I could just start over? He couldn’t even start over with Rumple… and he had done damage to the both of us.

“Do you really think either of us want to be with you? That we could ever forgive you after all you did to us? After you abandoned us?”

“… I’m disappointed, Rumple. After all these years, I thought you’d be more… understanding… especially considering that you did the same to your son. You traded Bealfire for the power of a dagger. And I traded you, at least, for youth. You even harmed you sister. Not quite the same way that I did, but you had the same goal. We’re a lot more alike than you care to admit.”

“We are nothing alike.”

“Oh, of course we are! It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Neither one of us was cut out to be a father, my boy.”

“I regretted leaving my son the moment I let him go. I spent my life trying to find him. To get him back… and what did you do? You forgot about us.”

“I never forgot about you! Either of you! Why do you think I call myself Peter Pan?! Why do you think I felt bad for the hip and kept an eye on you after that?!”

“Don’t think for a moment that we believe that it’s because you care for us.”

“But I do. All you have to do is put down that box and you’ll see it’s true. We can all make the fresh start that you always wanted, Rumple. Together. Just as we planned.”

“Oh, I’m gonna make a fresh start… just not with you…”

Rumple wave his hand over Pandora’s box.

And nothing happened.

He tried again.

And again, nothing happened.

“Rumple, why isn’t it working?”

“Cause he doesn’t have it!”

Pan pulled the box from behind his back.

Impossible.

“Follow the lady.” That cheap, old card game that he used to gamble on. “Still having trouble believing. In Neverland, all you have to do is think of something to have it. Even something fake. Now the real one… well, let’s see what it can do.”

I ran from my hiding place to see Pan open the box right as Rumple for it. My brother was frozen as red smoke shrouded him, pulling him into the box.

“RUMPLE!”

“I’m sorry Rumple. You had your chance. The choice was yours.”

The box clicked closed, locking away my only family.

“Now.”  
I knew that tone. Even in a young voice, I knew that tone. I had only heard it once on the worst night of my life, but I knew it. And it was enough to put the fear of God in me.

“My pretty little daughter. My Jorinda… What am I going to do with you?”


End file.
